I listened to the same meeting as Diane and can mirror what she said. I have attended MANY board meetings over many years and have seen/heard the same board members be disruptive time and time again. Board members speak out without being recognized by the president (and yes his gavel seemed to be calling people back to attention every few minutes....why use it if there is no need) Being at the back of the room you do miss an awful lot of what is going on. Where the phone set up was I understand was right in dead center and it was very hard listening to committee chairs, board members etc when 4 other people are talking on in private conversations and you get them too. Some interesting private conversations by the way.........note of caution board members. We hear it all........ I heard a couple of dogs bark, one conversation on the call before someone hit mute. I will suggest in the future that when the constant contact gets sent out to members that they be instructed when they log in to hit their mute button right away. Some who have never called in don't understand to do that and there is no one to give them direction as they announce themselves. On to the standard.........if there was no intent to change it, a committee would not have been set up to investigate changing it. Committee/intent go hand in hand. Glad the membership has final say, why my email a few days ago said I hope we still had enough intelligent people out there to see this for what it is. I do agree with Diane that it disappoints me more members do not attend by call in method. Its your club folks and the more that get the story as it unfolds, the better. Was very pleased that while presiding Frank also monitors his email, as does Lana. We had a couple of times that things went dead or cut off, and a quick email got one of their attention and Lana ensured it got fixed. Thanks much for that. Molly Trillia German Shepherds Member GSDCC, GSDCA, GSDC of Beaumont, life member CKC In a message dated 1/29/2013 11:20:40 A.M. Central Standard Time, EJDegen@xxxxxxx writes: I am not sure what board meeting Diane called in to listen to, but I had a completely DIFFERENT experience than she did...and I was actually IN THE ROOM for the entire meeting, seeing and hearing what went on, including the Friday night work session. I flew into Atlanta to attend the board meeting (I am not on the board) and arrived in the early afternoon on Friday. I didn't leave until Sunday afternoon. FIRST: I thought most of the board handled themselves professionally and with a business-like decorum. There may have been a couple of board members that were whispering to one another, asking for a clarification or something or another, but it was not disturbing to those in the meeting at all. SECOND: At no point was the meeting a "free for all". Our president, Frank Fasano, kept GREAT control of the meeting, and it was even "said" a few times (not during the meeting but during breaks), that if anything, he was OVER using his gavel and had "too much control"! I don't agree with that either, I felt that Frank's demeanor and professionalism in running the meeting was fair to all. I've not attended many GSDCA board meetings, but I have been in many other kinds of meetings and Frank is SUPERB at running a meeting. THIRD: The meeting was conducted following an agenda, and everyone had a copy of that agenda. Frank called on members of the audience (GSDCA members) when appropriate, but he followed the agenda to the letter. FOURTH: When listening in on a conference call, you can not POSSIBLY be getting the feel for the meeting. ALL MEMBERS OF THE GSDCA ARE INVITED TO ATTEND BOARD MEETINGS IN PERSON. I was welcomed warmly by all board members. If you want to see how they're run, THEN ATTEND ONE. FIFTH: The microphone picks up whispered conversations, and there were several times that people in the audience had a phone ring (I'm not aware of any time that a Board member had a phone ring), or were asking questions of one another (quietly and trying not to be disruptive, but the microphone still picks it all up). SIXTH: The meeting itself was interrupted with the EXTREMELY rude behavior of several people who were listening in on the conference call. If you do call in, PLEASE mute your phone. We heard people talking to others at their home, dogs barking, etc. Now THAT was a "free for all". SEVENTH: Keep in mind, these people are VOLUNTEERS. They ALL gave up their weekend (and took vacation days from work, or if self-employed, just gave up work), some gave up extra days as they had to be there on Wednesday, and they ALL lose money attending these meetings. The food prices are outrageous and their "daily stipend of $25" was almost completely blown by breakfast (I think the breakfast buffet was about $20, lunch was $25, and you couldn't eat dinner for under $30). No one is getting rich by serving on this board, and they work VERY VERY hard. ABOUT THE STANDARD: The board IS NOT TRYING TO CHANGE THE STANDARD. They cannot. A committee was appointed to look in to some items in the standard (coats and color) that some members have professed an interest in researching further. IF that committee decides to bring it to the membership, the ENTIRE GSDCA MEMBERSHIP WILL VOTE ON ANY CHANGES IN THE STANDARD. If YOU don't want any changes made in the standard, vote against it! Every member of the GSDCA, on the board or not, will be allowed to vote. If you are not a member of the GSDCA, then JOIN IT if you want to vote. If you are not a member of the GSDCA and you don't CARE about the standard, then don't join. You can only affect change by being a member. Julie Degen In a message dated 1/28/2013 5:06:30 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, Showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes: Msg: #3 in digest From: Kmgraphic2@xxxxxxx Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:42:29 -0500 (EST) Subject: re the standard is a moving target I am replying to Zoeââ¬â¢s post, (below), because it was succinct. Also, Zoe was one of a handful of BOD members who handled herself professionally and with business-like decorum. (Before anyone asks, yes, I did call in and listen to the BOD meeting Saturday ââ¬Â¦ even waited when the conference call line went down for a little while.) It was quite an interesting meeting and I really wish that more members had ââ¬Åtuned in.ââ¬Â Basically, many portions of the meeting were a total free-for-all. There was no discernable order and everyone was talking over everyone else, regardless of who had the floor; it was almost embarrassing to listen. The discussion of the proposal for a change in the GSD Standard is summed up well in Zoeââ¬â¢s post. Itââ¬â¢s the last line, ââ¬ÅRemember that many of these changes are being done to be more inclusive, to get more people involved and for economic improvement of clubsââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬Â that really concerns me and that line is a good summation of the BODââ¬â¢s intent. At what cost TO THE BREED are we supposed to allow the bastardization of our standard? <cut> JMO, flame away, folks, Diane ===========================================================================POST is Copyrighted 2012. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in any post. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org SUBSCRIPTION:http://showgsd.org/mail.html NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ =========================================================================== ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2012. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in any post. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org SUBSCRIPTION:http://showgsd.org/mail.html NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================